Here's what to know about the summer solstice, the longest day of the year
When I think of summer, I really start thinking about it in terms of daylight because, as a gardener, this is the most important time of the year. Once we get into August, the decrease in daylight starts to have an impact on plants, especially vegetables, which will slow down their growth.
The summer solstice arrives at 10:42 p.m. ET on June 20. The sun will appear directly overhead at a spot north of the equator.
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Temperature-wise, summer begins June 1 and continues until Aug. 31, the warmest 90 days of the year. We call this meteorological summer.
Astronomical summer also marks the midway point of solar summer. Although we will lose light over the next six weeks, the loss will not be extreme. By the time we get to early August, the daylight will still be similar to what it was back in early May. Thereafter, daylight starts to wane quite quickly.
The first day of astronomical summer is not the earliest sunrise nor is it the latest sunset. Because of the elliptical orbit of the Earth and our position on the planet itself, our earliest sunrise occurs around June 14 and the latest sunset occurs around June 27. Astronomical summer does, however, mark the greatest gap between sunrise and sunset.
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The position of the earth in relation to the sun on the summer solstice. The northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun.
Boston Globe
The first day of summer also doesn't mark the hottest average temperature of the year. Although we may reach 100 degrees this time of the year, in most years the warmest temperatures occur in the third week of July.
The reason for that is that although maximum of solar radiation falls on the first day of astronomical summer, there's still so much more coming in for the next six weeks that average temperatures don't peak until then.
The word solstice itself is derived from the Latin 'solstitium.' The word is a merging of 'sol,' meaning sun, and 'sistere,' meaning 'to stand still' or 'cause to stand still.'
The term reflects the fact that it seems as if the sun momentarily stands still at the northern point of its journey before turning south as we head toward the next solstice in December.
Finally, while we are enjoying all this daylight, it's the start of astronomical winter in the southern hemisphere. For those regions, today marks the least daylight of the year, now the days slowly begin to lengthen.
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When I think of summer, I really start thinking about it in terms of daylight because, as a gardener, this is the most important time of the year. Once we get into August, the decrease in daylight starts to have an impact on plants, especially vegetables, which will slow down their growth. The summer solstice arrives at 10:42 p.m. ET on June 20. The sun will appear directly overhead at a spot north of the equator. Advertisement Temperature-wise, summer begins June 1 and continues until Aug. 31, the warmest 90 days of the year. We call this meteorological summer. Astronomical summer also marks the midway point of solar summer. Although we will lose light over the next six weeks, the loss will not be extreme. By the time we get to early August, the daylight will still be similar to what it was back in early May. Thereafter, daylight starts to wane quite quickly. The first day of astronomical summer is not the earliest sunrise nor is it the latest sunset. Because of the elliptical orbit of the Earth and our position on the planet itself, our earliest sunrise occurs around June 14 and the latest sunset occurs around June 27. Astronomical summer does, however, mark the greatest gap between sunrise and sunset. Advertisement The position of the earth in relation to the sun on the summer solstice. The northern hemisphere is tilted towards the sun. Boston Globe The first day of summer also doesn't mark the hottest average temperature of the year. Although we may reach 100 degrees this time of the year, in most years the warmest temperatures occur in the third week of July. The reason for that is that although maximum of solar radiation falls on the first day of astronomical summer, there's still so much more coming in for the next six weeks that average temperatures don't peak until then. The word solstice itself is derived from the Latin 'solstitium.' The word is a merging of 'sol,' meaning sun, and 'sistere,' meaning 'to stand still' or 'cause to stand still.' The term reflects the fact that it seems as if the sun momentarily stands still at the northern point of its journey before turning south as we head toward the next solstice in December. Finally, while we are enjoying all this daylight, it's the start of astronomical winter in the southern hemisphere. For those regions, today marks the least daylight of the year, now the days slowly begin to lengthen.
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